When absorbent articles become soiled with exudates and are changed from the wearer, it is common for the lower abdomen and/or crotch region of the wearer to become soiled by urine, fecal matter, and/or other bodily discharges. Prior to replacing the soiled absorbent article and replacing it with a new, clean absorbent article, the skin of the wearer is cleansed. This cleaning of the skin can be done in a variety of ways and using a variety of different materials, but caregivers commonly use wet wipes or cloths to cleanse the wearer's skin. In some circumstances, caregivers may choose to use a clean portion of an inner layer of the soiled absorbent article to provide a first wipe to cleanse the wearer's skin in the lower abdomen or crotch region prior to using wet wipes, cloths, or tissues.
To perform this initial wipe, a caregiver may attempt to pinch or gather the front waist region of the absorbent article to obtain a grip on the absorbent article to use the inner layer of the absorbent article in a wiping fashion. However, pinching or gathering the front waist region of the absorbent article can reduce the effective area of the inner layer of the absorbent article that is intended to wipe the wearer's skin in the soiled area as well as create an uneven inner surface of the absorbent article that is not as conducive to wiping as the initial flat surface. Pinching or gathering the front waist region of the absorbent articles in this fashion may also expose a caregiver's fingers or hand to the exudates remaining on the wearer's skin, as the gathered material in the front waist region may fold over due to pinching or gathering of the absorbent article near the front waist edge of the absorbent article where the absorbent article may have less structural integrity and/or due to the wiping motion of the caregiver employs with the absorbent article. Additionally, gripping the front waist region of the absorbent article in such a fashion may prove to be difficult altogether as the outer cover materials may have a low coefficient of friction, resulting in the gathered or pinched area of the front waist region slipping out of the caregiver's hands while trying to wipe the soiled area.
A prior document has attempted to address these issues by the introduction of a pocket in the front waist region of the absorbent article to assist with cleaning the wearer. GB 2389300A discloses various embodiments of absorbent articles including such a pocket. However, absorbent articles including a pocket in the front waist region may suffer from poor fit from the fastening system where the fasteners engage material forming the pocket or material that is directly coupled to the material forming the pocket due to the fact these materials can move with respect to the rest of the absorbent assembly. As a result, the fastening system in such embodiments may loosen from the original desired tension applied to the fastening system by the caregiver, resulting in reduced fit characteristics during wear and/or increased likelihood of the gaskets of the absorbent article failing.
Thus, there remains a need for an absorbent article that can provide improved functionality for the caregiver to utilize the absorbent article as a first wipe to cleanse the wearer's skin, yet still retain proper fit maintenance of the fastening system of the absorbent article.